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Hundreds of immigrants press Wisconsin lawmakers to support driver's licenses for the undocumented

The lobbying event, organized by the immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, is a first step in the organization's campaign to persuade legislators to support the measure included in Tony Evers' budget.

Hundreds of immigrants press Wisconsin lawmakers to support driver's licenses for the undocumented

Supporters of a proposed state budget inclusion that would provide immigrants without Social Security numbers an opportunity to obtain a driver's license gather for a rally and press conference at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Thursday, March 14, 2019.(Photo: John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal)

The event, organized by the immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, is a first step in the organization's campaign to persuade legislators in the Republican-controlled Legislature to support the measure included in Evers’ budget proposal.

Immigrant students, workers and other supporters visited the offices of more than 50 lawmakers to explain their arguments and how the lack of access to driver’s licenses affects them and their family members. Some parents brought their small children, and supporters held signs stating: “Drivers licenses for all.”

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, said undocumented immigrants drive even if they don’t have licenses because they depend on that to go to work, take their kids to school or shop for groceries.

She said letting undocumented immigrants apply for licenses after they pass the required tests would make roads safer and decrease the number of uninsured drivers by making it easier for them to get insurance.

The proposal would protect undocumented immigrants who would be able to drive without fear of being pulled over, given a citation or criminally charged or placed in immigration detention for driving without a license, she said.

Undocumented immigrants, she said, are essential for Wisconsin’s economy and granting them licenses will generate economic growth.

“We have nothing but benefits to draw from that,” Neumann-Ortiz said.

She thinks that there’s an opportunity to build bipartisan support for the measure, which also has the backing of the Wisconsin Farmers Union and others.

Expanding access to driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants was one of Evers' campaign promises.

“This makes our roads and our communities safer, and helps strengthen our economy and Wisconsin families,” he said during his budget address.

Proposal faces opposition

But the proposal will face strong opposition in a Legislature that has stalled previous bills.

Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette,the co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance that will review the budget proposal, said he opposes including the non-fiscal policy measure in the budget.

“Illegal immigration remains a systemic crisis for our nation which needs Congress’ attention,” he said in a statement. “Further enabling and incentivizing the breaking of our laws is not in the best interest of Wisconsin. It’s worth noting that the vast majority of states do not allow undocumented immigrants to acquire a driver’s license.”

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, the co-chair of the finance committee, said the proposal wouldn’t be fair to Wisconsin taxpayers, adding that there’s a legal process in place for citizenship that everyone needs to follow.

Speaking in the office of Republican Sen. Luther Olsen, Bernardino Gomez, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Wisconsin for two decades, said he drives every day between his home in Milwaukee and Kenosha, where he works in a metal factory. He used to have a driver’s license until the state banned issuing them to undocumented immigrants. He would like to be able to have one again so that he can drive without fearing the police, he said.

Supporters of a proposed state budget inclusion that would provide immigrants without Social Security numbers an opportunity to obtain a driver's license gather for a rally and press conference at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Thursday, March 14, 2019.(Photo: John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal)

Gomez said he felt the visit to Olsen’s office was good even if they couldn’t meet him and a policy adviser didn’t tell them what the senator's position is.

“At least they opened up the door,” he said in Spanish.

Eduardo Perea, one of the attendees who traveled to Madison from Milwaukee, said he also drives without a license. If he couldn't drive, he would have to quit his job as a remodeling contractor, he said.

Kids Forward, a research nonprofit that supports allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, estimated that about 32,000 Wisconsin residents would gain driver’s licenses if restrictions were removed. They also estimated that the number of Wisconsin drivers without insurance would drop by 28,000. Drivers who don’t have a license can still buy insurance from some companies, but the cost is much higher, advocates say.

Law rooted in terrorism fight

Immigrants who are illegally in the U.S. used to be able to apply for driver’s licenses in Wisconsin until the late 2000s. In 2005, U.S. Congress passed a bill prohibiting federal agencies from accepting driver’s licenses as valid ID’s to let residents board commercial flights or enter federal buildings unless the states issuing them followed stricter standards, including verifying that the applicant is legally in the U.S.

The law, whose application was delayed for years, attempted to fight terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In 2007, the Wisconsin Legislature required its residents to prove they were legally in the U.S. to be able to obtain driver’s licenses.

Voces de la Frontera is proposing that Wisconsin issue undocumented immigrants a different type of driver’s license, one that would state the document can't be used to vote and that wouldn’t be valid to get on a plane or enter a federal building but would allow these immigrants to drive.

Twelve states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, the organization says.

Madison Police Chief Mike Koval speaks in support of a proposed state budget inclusion that would provide immigrants without Social Security numbers an opportunity to obtain a driver's license during a rally and press conference at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Thursday, March 14, 2019.(Photo: John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal)

Religious leaders, members of organizations who serve victims of domestic abuse, a representative of Wisconsin Farmers Union and Madison Police Chief Michael C. Koval also showed their support for the measure in a news conference at the Capitol.

Michael Slattery, with the Farmers Union, said farm owners need to take care of their workers.

Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee, has been filing for years bills that would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses. She thinks it's a victory that the measure is included in the budget proposal. If it doesn’t survive, she says, she would file a bill again.